A Handful of Ashes: One Mother's Tragedy [Hardcover]

Victoria C. G. Greenleaf (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2001

A psychiatrist asserts that childhood personality disorders don t necessarily result from parental cruelty, supporting that assertion with the story of the impact of her son s antisocial personality disorder on his loving family. This book will help untangle one of the most difficult of parent/child interactions.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 408 pages
• Publisher: Cypress House; First Edition, 1st Printing edition (January 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 187938437X
• ISBN-13: 978-1879384378
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,003,844 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended reading for child psychologists, March 18, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Handful of Ashes: One Mother's Tragedy (Hardcover)

In A Handful Of Ashes: One Mother's Tragedy, psychiatrists Victoria Greenleaf maintains that children can be born with negative personality traits that even the most exemplary upbringing will be unable to overcome. Dr. Greenleaf makes a convincing case that childhood personality disorder do not necessarily stem from flawed parenting or parental abuse. She asserts that genetics may be equally influential and supports her remarkable assertion with a personal account of the agonizing impact a child with Antisocial Personality Disorder can having on loving parents who, despite professional expertise and tireless efforts, were unable to reverse their son's condition. A Handful Of Ashes is highly recommended reading for child psychologists, family counselors, and parents who are trying their best to effectively and lovingly nurture an antisocial child.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nature Over Nurture, February 26, 2001

By 

Debbie Seaman (New Canaan, CT USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Handful of Ashes: One Mother's Tragedy (Hardcover)

I first interviewed Dr. Greenleaf when reporting an article for Time Magazine on Anti-Social Personalities (a.k.a. sociopaths or psychopaths), so it was with great interest that I read this book about her struggles with her sociopathic son, Daniel. This is an engaging, well-written, gut-honest narrative that is a must read for any parent with a baffling "black sheep" child or anyone who wants to be able to identify and avoid the sociopaths among us. The book also shatters the long-held assumption that bad kids are the by-product of bad parenting. Daniel, like so many destructive people who are without conscience, seems to have been born bad.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Look At A Road I Might Have Traveled, May 5, 2001

By 

William Cashman (NW Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Handful of Ashes: One Mother's Tragedy (Hardcover)

Reading Victoria Greenleaf's book is a fascinating and eye-opening experience. It is as compelling as a well-written novel, yet it has the added value of being true, provoking readers to ask themselves difficult questions about loopholes in socialization our culture has left open, and where the responsibility lies for those who, through cunning and guile, craft a life within them only to eventually become everyone's unackowledged problem. Dr. Greenleaf paints a comprehensive picture in which the social mechanisms we have created to deal with this problem are woefully inadequate. The agencies are understaffed, underfinanced, and undervalued. Because of the prevalence of this character disorder, we are losing a significant portion of the best of what we have. Her character, Daniel, eventually becomes a moderately productive member of society, but contributes perhaps only a fraction of what he might have. The part he will never manifest is a devastating shortfall, especially when one considers how prevalent this condition is. Greenleaf makes the point well that as a society we can not afford to continue ignoring this problem. We are losing too much of our most vital resource at a time when it is sorely needed: the full commitment to our mutual problems by not only the best and the brightest but by every member of our community. This book gives us an Erin Brockovich heroine who stands up for saving our children by taking on every possible task to try to correct her son's personality flaw. It is an honest statement in which she willingly opens herself to possible criticism by telling her story the way it actually happened. It took years of her time to put this together, a task she performed because she felt this is a story that should be told. She deserves more than our gratitude; she deserves to see a general awakening to the extent of this problem and an increased resolve to do something about it. This is a brave, compelling, and much needed book.